They Will Remember You in the Bust Not the Boom

Seth Godin has a great post today talking about customer service in the boom and in the bust. It is a short little piece called a Friend In Need. I am going to go ahead and post it in the blog to give you the full experience:

Your customers and employees and investors will remember how you treated them when times were tough, when they needed a break, when a little support meant everything.

No one in particular will remember how you acted during the boom times.

This is a great lesson for small business owners. I have always tried to think of my clients as more friends than anything else. They are trusting you with something extremely significant in their lives: their small businesses.

I have devoted myself and my company to making the most of our relationships. We have started planning for the new year and that is number one for 2009: customer relationships.

I encourage everyone to listen to what Seth is saying in the down times. Treat your customers with the utmost respect. If they need a break…. give it to them!